This is a yearly event (usually the middle weekend in
July) held at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA. Attendance this year
was at approximately 1400 people. Reservations may be made to stay in the dorms and
for meals from Friday night through Sunday lunch. Seminars run from 1:00 Friday to
11:00 Sunday morning and Kodak always has a feature presentation on Saturday night.
Door prizes after the Saturday night show are items donated by some of the vendors - this
year, the top two items were donated by Kodak: a digital Kodak 280 camera and a
laser projector. Film and batteries are frequently donated in large quantities.
The seminars range from nature, still, model, journalism, etc. Digital
photography seminars have increased each year and are very popular. Check out http://www.grafficart.com for some exceptional
digital images. Other courses include B&W photography, darkroom, color printing,
etc. I have been attending this event for the past 15 years; this past year was the
50th anniversary. A number of vendors set up selling all sorts of photo-related
goodies and gadgets. Kodak usually includes a free roll of film in your registration
package when you sign in. To get reservation forms, check with your camera shop
(East Coast) or check their website: http://www.neccc.org
I've included information on this event since they do accommodate campers.
There are, of course, no hookups, but area in Lot 25 North is set aside for those
of us who wish to stay in our own accommodations. Bus runs once an hour to the main
campus. It's not a bad walk, but Saturday night we had heavy rain, so I decided to
bus it instead.
Photographic opportunities include models, nature, still
and live-model subjects in the "Hi Jinx" segment. Sunday morning usually
features either sky divers or a hot air balloon. This year we were scheduled for a
hot air balloon lift-off at 6 a.m., but the weather didn't cooperate and we had rain
instead. (This was another one of the door prizes - a space aboard the balloon for
its flight.) We were, however, treated to a Pipes and Drum Band from the Police
Department in Waterbury, Connecticut. By then, the weather had cleared so this was
an outside event. (Their bus broke down on their way up so they were about an hour
late, which worked out well!).
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